Society's ChildS

Bug

Corn Rootworm Overcomes Monsanto's GMO Seed

western corn rootworm
© Marlin E. Rice

Surprise, surprise, Monsanto's genetically modified seed is being overcome by the insects evolutionary arsenal. A new study by Iowa State University entomologist Aaron Gassmann, has found that western corn rootworms have developed resistance to an insect killing protein, derived from Bacillus thuringiensis, also known as Bt, the insecticide in Monsanto's gentically modified corn plant.

The rise of a new super bug is raising concerns amongst farmers that have been using Monsanto's GMO seed, that they will have to use pesticides to combat this evolutionary development. Monsanot released the seed back in 2003, and are stating that their customers are still getting their monies worth in using this GMO seed.

The evolutionary path of the corn rootworm's adaption to Monsanto's gentically modified seed is being passed down to the rootworm's offspring. Insects have adapted and have overcome Monsanto's GMO technolgy within a short period of time.

Handcuffs

US, Indiana: Shirtless Samurai 'Cuckoo for Coco Puffs'

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© Lake County PoliceIndiana police recently arrested a sword-carrying samurai who allegedly claimed he was "Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs."
A man was found walking along the inner shoulder of I-65 in Indiana on Sunday afternoon around 2:30 p.m. He was not far from his abandoned white Toyota, which was still in the middle lane of the interstate. Indiana Police State Trooper Ricky Rayner found the car, and then he quickly spotted the man.

"The man was marching like a drum major, holding the sword, moving it up and down in rhythm with his marching cadence," State Police said.

Nicknamed the "Shirtless Samurai," the man was wearing only a pair of shorts and slip-on shoes, carrying a 35-inch samurai sword. He was later identified as 42-year-old Cicero resident Bryon Womack.

Handcuffs

US, California: FBI Arrests Prominent Democratic Campaign Treasurer

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© unknownDemocrat campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee has been arrested by the FBI on mail fraud charges
A prominent Democratic campaign treasurer who works for federal, state and O.C. lawmakers including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Rep. Loretta Sanchez and state legislators Lou Correa and Jose Solorio has been arrested by the FBI on suspicion of mail fraud, The Orange County Register has learned.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek confirmed Saturday afternoon that Kinde Durkee of Burbank-based Durkee and Associates, was arrested by the FBI on a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento. Special Agent Steve Dupre of the bureau's Sacramento office said she was arrested in connection with her position as a campaign treasurer.

State Sen. Lou Correa told the Register on Saturday afternoon that he was called by the FBI late Friday night and told that Durkee had been arrested and that he is a likely victim along with "many, many other victims." The Santa Ana Democrat said he believes he has lost "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in campaign funds.

People

US: Illinois to lay off thousands of state workers by end of week




A decision made by Gov. Pat Quinn may leave thousands of state workers without a job by the end of the week.

The cuts are coming in the face of a budget deficit that doesn't leave enough money to pay the workers, the governor says. Quinn also plans to close a prison, juvenile detention center and homes for the mentally ill.

If no cuts are made, several agencies will run out of money by spring, Quinn says.

"We can't spend money we don't have," Quinn said Tuesday.

Pistol

US Gun Sales 'on Track to Surpass 15 Million' this Year

Gun show
© Getty ImagesAttendees check out new models at a January gun show in Las Vegas. Reasons given in the surge in sales range from paranoia about the economy to certainty President Obama will be draconian in his approach to firearms in a second term.
Rick Perry's emergence as the front runner for the Republican Presidential nomination would seem like a coup for the gun industry. The Texas governor's enthusiasm for firearms rivals Yosemite Sam's. He has an A+ rating from the Texas State Rifle Association and packs a laser-sighted Ruger pistol when he jogs. Last year, he famously shot a coyote that threatened his dog during a run. To commemorate his act of valor, the manufacturer, Sturm, Ruger & Co., produced a lightweight, limited-edition "Coyote Special" with the words "A True Texan" emblazoned on the barrel. Collectors snapped them up. Perry would be as ardent a champion of gun rights as has ever occupied the White House.

And yet he still may not do as much for the industry as Barack Obama already has. In the time since he took office, gun sales have soared. The government doesn't track individual sales. But the FBI criminal background check required to purchase a gun is considered a reasonable proxy, and these have hit record numbers each year Obama has been in office. This year, they're on track to surpass 15 million for the first time.

Family

US: One Sperm Donor, 150 Offspring

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© David Ahntholz for The New York TimesOffspring Ryan Kramer, 20, of Pasadena, Calif., is the child of a donor.
Cynthia Daily and her partner used a sperm donor to conceive a baby seven years ago, and they hoped that one day their son would get to know some of his half siblings - an extended family of sorts for modern times.

So Ms. Daily searched a Web-based registry for other children fathered by the same donor and helped to create an online group to track them. Over the years, she watched the number of children in her son's group grow.

And grow.

Today there are 150 children, all conceived with sperm from one donor, in this group of half siblings, and more are on the way. "It's wild when we see them all together - they all look alike," said Ms. Daily, 48, a social worker in the Washington area who sometimes vacations with other families in her son's group.

Cow Skull

US: EPA Declares Hay a Pollutant in Effort to Antagonize Small and Mid-Sized U.S. Cattle Feeders

winter hay
© Mike Callicrate
Billings, Montana - During his presentation on the status of the nation's new country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law, and on behalf of the R-CALF USA COOL Committee, R-CALF USA member and Kansas cattle feeder Mike Callicrate was asked a non-COOL question that set convention goers on their heels during the 12th Annual R-CALF USA Convention held August 26-27 in Rapid City, S.D.

"Has the Environmental Protection Agency declared hay a pollutant?" an audience member asked. Callicrate responded affirmatively and explained that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently initiated a formal enforcement action against his Kansas feedlot for, among other things, failure to store his hay in a pollution containment zone. "Now that EPA has declared hay a pollutant, every farmer and rancher that stores hay, or that leaves a broken hay bale in the field is potentially violating EPA rules and subject to an EPA enforcement action," Callicrate said. "How far are we going to let this agency go before we stand up and do something about it?"

Callicrate is permitted to handle 12,000 cattle at a time in his feedlot, which is considered a small to mid-sized feedlot in an industry now dominated by mega-feedlots such as those owned by the world's largest beef packer - JBS-Brazil - with a one-time capacity of over 900,000 cattle; or the other mega-feedlot that also feeds hundreds of thousands of cattle at a time and is owned by the nation's second-largest beef packer - Cargill; or the other handful of mega feedlots with capacities of hundreds of thousands of cattle such as those owned by Cactus Feeders, Inc. and Friona Industries.

Heart - Black

Passenger, 31, chokes to death on in-flight meal... and his girlfriend sits next to his body for NINE hours

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© unknownRobert Rippingale choked to death while eating an in-flight meal
A woman sat next to her boyfriend's body for nine hours after he choked to death on an in-flight meal.

Vanessa Preechakul and Robert Rippingale were on an 11-hour flight from Singapore to Auckland when tragedy struck.

Mr Rippingale, 31, was taking Miss Preechakul, a 27-year-old architect, to meet his parents and explore his native New Zealand.

An hour and a half into the flight with Jetstar, a low budget subsidiary of Qantas, the crew began serving dinner. Mr Rippingale chose a beef dish and was eating it while watching an in-flight movie.

Miss Preechakul said she noticed him shaking, but did not realise anything was wrong. 'I thought he was laughing very hard,' she said. 'Then I looked at his face and his eyes were rolling and he couldn't talk. His lips were turning purple.'

USA

Police State Roundup: 15 Reasons Why I Choose Not to Live in the USSA

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© unknown
I left the United Soviet States of Amerika (USSA) five years ago and never looked back. Upon discovering that government forces executed what I learned was a "false flag operation" (thank you Loose Change), that the economy was one giant Ponzi scheme (thank you G. Edward Griffin) and that there truly did exist a movement for totalitarian world government mirroring Biblical depictions (thank you Alex Jones), I figured I had some soul-searching to do.

I have long been dismayed at the barrage of totalitarian news coming out of Fascistan. Sometimes, in the chaos of "third world" countries where I tend to reside, you actually have more freedom because the typical "first world" police state laws either don't exist or nobody bothers to follow them. You can slip through the cracks. Heck, I'd driven a car for years without the correct papers.

Here, we are allowed to sell candy, puppies or hamburgers on the side of pretty much any street; authorities would likely agree with you that 9/11 was an inside job, and so forth. The free-market stimulates growth, while collectivist government destroys pretty much anything it touches.

Sure, the USSA is not unique, but what was once the spearhead of freedom has become the spearhead of tyranny, and nobody got the memo.

My fellow fluoride-head citizen and Platonic cave-dweller, I give thanks. Without you, none of this would have been possible. While those of us thoughtful and careful enough to read countless tomes and research endless laws and events, you continually deride us. For some of you there is yet hope.

In the land of freedom, the following is a dish served hot.

Bomb

US, Washington: Bomb threats at Ritzville Starbucks force evacuations

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© KREM.com
The Ritzville Police Department is investigating a bomb threat after two threatening calls were made to the Starbucks along Weber Rd.

A Starbucks employee told police that someone called saying that "there is a bomb in your store, everyone is going to die." The call came in at 10:43 a.m., and the employee could not tell if it was a male or female because the voice was altered. Shortly after, Starbucks received a second call saying the same thing.

Authorities evacuated Starbucks and six other nearby businesses.